Tim Mathieson
Tim Mathieson | |
|---|---|
 Mathieson with Julia Gillard in 2013 | |
| Partner of the Prime Minister of Australia | |
| In role 24 June 2010 – 27 June 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Thérèse Rein |
| Succeeded by | Thérèse Rein |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Timothy Raymond Mathieson 1957 (age 66–67) Shepparton, Victoria, Australia |
| Spouse | Diane Stark (m. 1987; div. 2003) |
| Domestic partner(s) | Julia Gillard (2006–2021) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Shepparton High School[1] |
| Occupation | Hairdresser |
Timothy Raymond Mathieson (born 1957) is an Australian hairdresser and the former domestic partner of Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013.[1] Mathieson entered the public spotlight when he became Gillard's partner in 2006 while she was deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party.[2][3] His relationship with Gillard ended in 2021.[4]
Early life and career
Mathieson was born and raised in Shepparton, Victoria. After a hairdressing apprenticeship in suburban Melbourne, he first operated a Shepparton hair salon, then another on the Gold Coast, Queensland.[5] For much of the 1990s, Mathieson lived and worked in San Francisco in the United States.[6]
Mathieson returned to Australia in 2004, worked for one year as a hairdresser at Heading Out salon in Melbourne, where he met long-standing salon client, politician Julia Gillard. They began dating in March 2006.[1] With financial support from his father and brother, Mathieson established Tim Mathieson Hair in Shepparton but moved back to Melbourne later in 2006[7] as a sales representative for a hair products company.[6] From January to March 2010, Mathieson focused on the sale of high-rise apartments in Melbourne to international buyers on behalf of a local real estate agency.[3][8]
Once Gillard became prime minister in June 2010, Mathieson supported her by assuming an unpaid behind-the-scenes role.[9]
Public life
In November 2008, Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon appointed Mathieson as one of the government's unpaid men's health ambassadors.[2] He later became an ambassador for Kidney Health Australia,[10] a patron of the Australian Men's Shed Association[11] and involved with the Indigenous Diabetes Association in Alice Springs[3] and Beyond Blue mental health group.[5] In December 2010, Mathieson was appointed patron of the National Portrait Gallery.[12]
In January 2013, Mathieson attracted media attention for a joke he made while advocating for prostate examinations, advising men to seek out "a small Asian female doctor" when receiving a rectal prostate exam. After commentators considered his remark inappropriate and in poor taste, he apologised.[13]
Personal life
While in his late teens during the 1970s, Mathieson fathered a daughter with his girlfriend Pam Child.[14][15] In 1987, Mathieson married Diane Stark; they had a son and a daughter together[16] and divorced in 2003.[17] In March 2006, Mathieson started dating Julia Gillard.[1] When asked in 2010 about formal marriage to Gillard, he said that they had not discussed it at that stage.[18] Mathieson's relationship with Gillard ended in 2021.[19]
Sexual assault
In July 2023, Mathieson pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault after non-consensually sucking the nipple of a sleeping woman and "latching onto her breast when she tried to fend him off" in March 2022.[20][4] Mathieson was convicted in October 2023 and fined $7000.[4]
References
- ^ a b c "Gillard's partner Tim Mathieson 'bubbly'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ a b Harris, Talek (25 June 2010). "Beer-swilling hairdresser is Australia's 'First Bloke'". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ a b c Lunn, Stephen (26 June 2010). "Julia Gillard's partner faces life in the limelight". The Australian. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ a b c "Tim Mathieson, former partner of Julia Gillard, spared jail over sexual assault on sleeping woman". ABC News. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Tim Mathieson, Men's Health Ambassador". Beyond Blue. 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ a b Valent, Dani (18 May 2007). "Our Julia". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Crabb, Annabel (29 November 2008). "Gotta wash sexism right outta our hair". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Royce Millar and Rafael Epstein (20 August 2010). "Tim to quit job if Julia gets up". The Age. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ Bath Blowdry And Barracking For The Pm The Daily Telegraph [dead link]
- ^ "Kidney Health Australia Appoints Tim Mathieson as Health Ambassador" (Press release). Kidney Health Australia. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ "AMSA Patrons". Australian Men's Shed Association. 2009. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ "Julia Gillard's partner Tim Mathieson new patron of National Portrait Gallery". The Australian. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ "First Bloke Tim Mathieson apologises for prostate joke 'in poor taste'". The Australian. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/tim-mathieson-reveals-he-wants-partner-and-prime-minister-julia-gillard-to-be-his-wife/news-story/4478da3c7d39a6ca46ef365c2289b777 [bare URL]
- ^ Tinkler, Chris (14 October 2007). "Julia Gillard's partner in plea". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Walsh, Kerry-Anne; Benns, Matthew (27 June 2010). "First bloke is a man's man". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Weston, Paul (1 August 2010). "Speeding Tim Mathieson was also a drink-driver". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ Lunn, Stephen (25 June 2010). "Let's wait and see on marriage, says Julia Gillard's partner". The Australian. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ Brown, Natalie (27 March 2022). "Julia Gillard confirms she's quietly split with former 'First Bloke' Tim Mathieson". news.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ Pearson, Erin (27 July 2023). "Julia Gillard's ex-partner Tim Mathieson to plead guilty to sex assault". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2023.